The closer two languages are related the more similar word, word groups or phrases can get.
That's good news when learning another lingo, especially one that  is closely related to the students own mother tongue. The logical conclusion could be: great, same or close spelling, same ore close pronunciation; that word must mean the same. Unfortunately for us language students here a lot of our friends turn nasty. They are false!!! The trap has closed and we are stuck in our conversation with sometimes embarrassing results.
Cognates (from Latin cognatus 'born together') are words or phrases that are related. They come naturally from the same root but developed in different directions and changed sometimes their meanings. We find cognates most often in cognate languages such as English, Greek, Latin, and German.
If these cognates mean the same in different languages, we call them true friends, i.e.:  English "mother" and German "Mutter," or English "butter" and German "Butter."
If these cognates change their meaning when languages develop differently, well you can get something like this:
German tourist in a restaurant: Waiter, when do I become a beer?
What the guest wants to say is: ‚Herr Kellner, wann bekomme ich ein Bier?"
"Bekommen" (bekommt - bekam - hat bekommen) in German does not mean "to become". It means to get, to receive, to have. The English verb "to become" translates into German as "werden" (wird - wurde - ist geworden).
Here a few more examples.
- German: das Handy = mobile phone; Er ruft mit seinem Handy die Freunde an. (He calls his friends on his mobile.)
- English: handy = handlich, nuetzlich, greifbar; Die Videokamera is sehr handlich. (The video camera is very handy.)
- German: die (Lautsprecher) Box = the loud speaker; Die Box ist zu gross. (The loud speaker is too big)
- English: the box = die Schachtel; Die Kette liegt in einer kleinen Schachtel. (The necklace is in the little box.)
- German: die Ambulanz = emergency department; Wir muessen sofort in die Ambulanz fahren. (We have to go straight away to the accident & emergency department.)
- English: the ambulance = der Krankenwagen; Bitte rufen Sie einen Krankenwagen. (Please call the ambulance.)
- German: das Menue = set meal; Das Menue des Tages ist Zwiebelsuppe, Fisch und Apfelkuchen. (Today's special is onion soup, fish and apple cake.)
- English: the menu = die Speisekarte; Die Speisekarte bitte. (The menu please.)
I will publish more false friends in future blogs.
